To find a law by its popular name using ProQuest Congressional: select "Statutes at Large" under "Legislative Histories, Bills & Laws", then click "Popular Names" and search or browse the list of names to select the desired act; set an appropriate date range, such as pre-1940 for the Social Security Act, to narrow results; click the matching result to view the full text and amendments of the selected act across multiple PDF files.

1. Finding a Law by Popular Name Using ProQuest Congressional

2. … Select Legislative Histories, Bills & Laws

3. Select “Statues at Large”.

4. Click on the link “Popular Names”.

5. Either browse the list of names provided or find a word in the name.

6. Select the name of the act you want then click the red button to add the name to your search.

7. Select an appropriate date range. The default setting will only search the last 2 years. For such a significant act as the Social Security Act you may want to search before a certain date to narrow your search to the original act.

8. By narrowing the dates field to search only prior to 1940 a short list of results reveals the Social Security Act, passed in 1935. Click on this link to view the full text of this act, along with all subsequent amendments to this law.

9. The full text of this act is available in 3 PDF files, linked here.

10. For more information about using ProQuest Congressional contact Ask a Librarian http://www.lib.umich.edu/ask